Chocolate Zucchini Blender Muffins

I had been playing around with different “blender muffin” recipes, mostly because I judge a recipe by how many bowls I have to wash at the end.

by Courtney Westfall

Last week was our Clay Fullum Fine Arts Camp at church and I got to help lead the culinary track with 20 kids each morning. This is always my second favorite week of the year (Vacation Bible School being my favorite, obvs). We try to come up with healthy, kid-friendly food that elementary kids can make on their own for the camp. I had been playing around with different “blender muffin” recipes, mostly because I judge a recipe by how many bowls I have to wash at the end. I tried a few chocolate zucchini muffin recipes before developing my own with my three-year-old as my sous chef. We had fun and ended up loving the chocolatey end result.

Here’s my recipe for Chocolate Zucchini Blender Muffins. They are flour free, dairy free and have no added sugar. And- you mix all of it in the blender so cleanup is a breeze.

Ingredients

• 2 cups oats (whole or quick)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ cup unsweetened apple sauce
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil (or vegetable oil or butter)
• ½ cup honey
• 2 cups grated zucchini (about one large zucchini)
• 3 eggs
• ½ cup mini chocolate chips (for sprinkling on top)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add all ingredients up through zucchini to blender and blend on high speed until well mixed. Stop blender, scrape down sides and add eggs. Blend on low speed until eggs are incorporated. Using the blender as a pitcher, pour into greased muffin tins or muffin liner cups, filling 2/3 full. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top and bake for 9-11 minutes (mini muffins) or 12-14 minutes (standard muffins). Remove from oven and let cool at least long enough so you don’t burn your tongue.

(Once I figured out that one big zucchini equals about two cups, I just grated the zucchini straight into the blender.)

(I kept finding sticky spots on my counter for days after letting the three-year-old  be the honey-measurer.)

(The batter looks lighter in the picture than it was in real life.)

My favorite part about the cleanup was rinsing the blender then adding dish soap and hot water and blending the soapy mixture on high. Rinse and dry. That’s as close as you get to self-cleaning!

(I should win a prize for all the weird stuff on my counter: nametag from work, acrylic paint, blueberries, Vitamin D drops, a sweet potato and a snot sucker, for the baby who had croup.)

Yields: about 3 dozen mini muffins or 18 regular muffins.

Courtney Westfall is a Children’s Pastor, wife and mom to three kids. She likes nail polish, going to bed early, making up silly songs and anything color coded.